Cherry Lollipop: A Tale of the Stalked Stalker
by MoriHikari
Summary: What happens when you fall for a guy JUST BECAUSE? That is now the main dilemma of Mori Hikari, who simply confused her physical attraction to Fuji as a sign of love. Or something much more than that. [side note: this story contains some original characters]
1. Chapter 1: Love at First Squeal

**Chapter 01: Love at First Squeal**

"Wait... a B+? S-sensei... are there any ways to make this higher?" a red-haired girl pleaded to her grumpy PE teacher as she saw the bold B+ on her grade sheet. The teacher, a man in his fifties, firmly shook his head and said, "I've already considered your academic status for me to give you that grade, Mori-san, but still..." he sighed deeply, "You need to run at least 50 laps this school term lest you fail your Physical Education class." He showed the pleading student her track record and saw that she had only completed 45 laps... and mostly are completed because of brisk walking (and crawling sometimes).

In order to make up for the last five laps, she crammed five different reports from running and its advantages, most information came from her mom who's once a dietician and now an editor-in-chief for Japan's most popular food magazine. Well, it seems that he didn't buy it then.

Mori Hikari of Class 2-A can't accept this B+ for two main reasons: almost everyone on her class got A's on this subject... and that Tezuka Kunimitsu got a flawless A+ on running (obviously).

_Tezuka Kunimitsu_. The guy who's in her way on being Seigaku's top one student (in their year, at least) for the past two years. Just thinking that he surpassed her in a simple subject like PE didn't make her nerves calm down.

Her pride's at stake, so she said carelessly, "I'll make up the last five laps after class, Hiraga-sensei..." "You sure about that?" he said skeptically, with crossed eyebrows. They both know it's impossible for her to run that length in just one time, but Hiraga-sensei knows his student is desperate enough. "Fine, I will let you run 5 laps later. Meet me on the field." was Hiraga-sensei's last order and the contented (and challenged) Hikari thanked him and headed back to her classroom.

As she went to the open field after club activities, she spotted a familiar crowd cheering her on. In it were Kikumaru Eiji, Abe Miiko, Nobunaga Shina, and most of 2-A. "Uhh... guys, what are you doing here?" she asked Miiko as Hikari approached her best friends. "Isn't it obvious? We're going to cheer you on!" Miiko and Shina said in unison, and Hikari turned beet red. It wasn't really necessary for her three bestfriends and MOST of her classmates to see her helplessly complete 5 laps for that A+.

Well, at least Tezuka left for home already, so Hikari took a sigh of relief. "Well, Tezuka wants to say 'good luck' to you Hikari-chan, nya~" Eiji chirped and Hikari quickly said, "As if he cares about this!"

Hiraga-sensei finally came to the field and shooed the gawking students away. "Are you ready, Mori-san?" he gruffly asked as he got his paper and pen. Hikari took a last drink of water and answered, "Yes, I'm ready, Hiraga-sensei."

"YOU CAN DO IT HIKARI NYA~!"

"STILL LOOKING GOOD MORI-SAN! GANBATTE!"

"HIKARI! HIKARI! HIKARI!"

"DON'T FALL OFF!"

The spectators went wild as Hikari finished her first lap. She was already panting heavily as she turned again for the next lap. "You finish the 5 laps, you get an A+; you don't... your B+ will remain!" the teacher reminded her and Hikari gulped. Gosh, why won't her body cooperate with her?

"HAAAAAAAA!" as Hikari was on the middle of the third lap, her vision starts to blur. She tried to look at her three friends who gave her constant thumbs-ups and "YOU CAN DO IT!" shouts. She slowed down her pace and went brisk walking instead. She would rather walk this way out rather than die from exhaustion.

But, a certain memory of that four-eyed stoic boy upped her adrenaline and went back running for the fourth lap. "Don't push yourself, Mori-san!" Hiraga-sensei exclaimed with worry, yet Hikari wasn't moved. I need to finish this... I GOT TO FINISH THIS! It seems that the only thing that's making her move is her determination to beat Tezuka academically... or at least, be on his level. Her vision began to darken and darken, and as she finished her fifth lap, she went straight kissing the ground, eyes shut.

Before Hikari opened her eyes wide, she smelled a familiar scent of rubbing alcohol. The cool sensation felt good against her forehead. She also felt the weight of her legs gradually decreasing from all that running. Guessing she's in the infirmary, she finally opened her eyes and saw a familiar brown-haired guy (or... girl?) with perpetually closed eyes "looking" at her. Eyes still blurry, she asked in a dazed voice, "Are you my prince... or... are you a princess?"

The brown-haired person chuckled softly and replied, "I'm more of... the prince, Mori-san," and helped her get up. Removing the cool towel from her forehead, Hikari then rubbed her eyes and was shocked at what she saw.

"OH MY GOOOOSH! I'm so sorry, F-Fuji-kun?" Hikari instantly went red at the sight of the handsome guy. Wait, her memory failed for a while and remembering that "Hikari-chan, this is Fuji Syuusuke nya~! He's my clubmate nya~!" thirty-second introduction a few months ago confirmed her that he's indeed Fuji Syuusuke.

"Hmm..." he simply smiled at the sudden shriek of Hikari and handed her a cool glass of water. "Thanks," she said gratefully and downed the first glass in a matter of seconds. As Fuji got up to get another glass, Hikari asked, "What happened to me earlier? Did I faint? Who rescued me? Why are you with me in the infirmary? Did you... sorry for the many questions..." Fuji handed her another glass of water and as she drank - a little slower now - as he simply answered, "I just saw a cute cherry lollipop falling to the ground and I came to pick it up." with a cute smile.

That smile was so cute it made Hikari's heart skip a beat. Straaaange. Wait a minute though. Cherry lollipop? Falling to the ground? Is that answer even relevant to her stream of questions?

"It's you silly," Fuji chuckled at the sight of Hikari's confused look... Actually, it's Fuji's not-so-secret-anymore nickname for Hikari, as her face gets red instantly when she blushes. Add her red hair to the list, and voila! Hikari looks like a cherry lollipop (for Fuji that is). "Uhh... okay... Fuji-kun..." Hikari had an array of nicknames... but CHERRY LOLLIPOP? Okay.

"So, you were watching me doing that lame race, right?" Hikari asked him. Fuji nodded and told her that most of her classmates were really in panic when she passed out - including her bestfriends and their PE teacher. Since Fuji was the nearest person to the passed-out Hikari, he didn't hesitate to pick her up and headed her to the infirmary. Fast.

"That was a close call, Mori-san," the two were interrupted by Hiraga-sensei with his unusually sunny smile, holding up Hikari's grade sheet. The B+ was erased a little roughly and was replaced by an A. Finally. _But... an A?_

"You failed to finish the last lap by a few meters, so an A would suffice, right?" Hikari just nodded in defeat. Well, she definitely hates physical activities of any kind, and hey at least she got an A...

"HIKARIIIIIIIIIIIIII!" her three friends welcomed her at her own house afterwards. Hikari wasn't surpised that they went ahead of her; it was already 6 in the evening. (Actually, Fuji walked her home because her legs are still a little twitchy) Looking at her bright-red face, Eiji was the first one to ask, "Ehhh... what's wrong Hikari-chan? Do you have a fever nya~" And the two girls nodded. Not only she's as red as a cherry, she tried to hide a rape-like smile from them, resulting to a psychotic look. "Heeheehee this is nothing guys," Hikari composed herself as she sunk into the plush sofa at their living room. Still, it's pretty obvious Hikari's hiding something from them.

"Ohmygoooooosh girl, are you in love?" Shina asked in curiousity, taking a seat next to her. "Who's the lucky guy?"

Man, these people can read my mind easily, Hikari thought. But it's already a given fact: Mori Hikari can't hide her feelings so people can easily see if she's happy, sad, angry, or, for this time, IN LOVE. Still, don't jump into conclusions Hikari-chan. Just because some crazily good-looking guy saves you from falling to the dirt ground face first and rushes you to the infirmary without further notice doesn't mean you've already fallen head-over-heels over him!

That's what the brain would tell us... but young love permits us to use our brains less and our hearts more... so the still-wonderstruck Hikari replied:

"I guess I'm in love... with that Fuji Syuusuke."

Miiko choked on her jasmine tea. Eiji almost fell down from the chair. Shina held Hikari by the shoulders and shook her hard enough to help her regain her sanity.

"Hikari-chan... ARE YOU SERIOUS?"

"You don't even talk to that guy!"

"Eh? I thought you like Tezuka, nya?"

"Get yourself together MORI HIKARI," Miiko instructed, "Well, as much as we do find Fuji-kun cute... don't you think it's a bit too... soon for you to... well... love... him?" "I agree with Miiko-chan, nya~" Eiji looked at her worriedly. "What's not to like about him?" Hikari looked at the three with skepticism flashing before her eyes. "He's cute... and he's... uhh... good-looking... and... attractive... and..." "Hikari, you just noticed those are synonymous with 'cute', right?"

Hikari was stumped at Shina's comment. Besides his looks, and charming smile, she knows nothing else about Fuji Syuusuke. Well, at least she knows he's from the tennis club too.

"Well, it's not my fault that I know nothing about him!" Hikari cried out in exasperation, "and I just had my first conversation with him today... and I think I fell in love at first sight." Or something like that. She held a throw pillow and buried her face on it. Geez.

"I guess you're just mistaking your physical attratction to him as love, dear," Miiko said and explained something about love and infatuation that Hikari understood a little. She's still reminiscing the moments she and Fuji shared in the infirmary and at the same time how Fuji helped her travel from school all the way home with no rush whatsoever.

"Hikari... Hikari? Oy." "Yes, Mii-chan?" Hikari replied meekly. "I repeat: if you love one person, you should be ready enough to know him and his true self." "Uhh... okay I will," she simply answered, although deep down inside she's clueless on what to do. She's one of the socially awkward people out there, even though she is Ms. Popular, Hikari is not the one who can approach anyone so easily and say "Hi!" or "Can you tell me what's your favorite color?" Especially not with her newfound love... or... crush.

"Fuji?" Tezuka called on his teamate as he saw him walking past his house... with a smile more cheerful than the usual. "Ah, Tezuka... so you live here?" Fuji peered into his house. Oh, seems decent, and the best part is just it's only a lengthy walk from Hikari's. Interesting.

Tezuka nodded, and asked Fuji where he was and what's he up to. "I just walked Mori-san home earlier. Her legs are still aching from the running," as Fuji mentioned Mori's name, Tezuka immediately opened their house gate and let Fuji in. "How was she? Did she finished the requirement?" Tezuka asked with the slightest hint of worry on the tone of his voice. "Not quite, Tezuka," Fuji continued telling him what happened next, from Hikari passing out until the walk home.

"I... see..." Tezuka's voice gradually dropped and Fuji chuckled. "Why... you're jealous that I spent time with her today, Tezuka?" he teased him, tapping him a little hard on the shoulder. "Don't worry, I have no intention of winning her over." "It's not that way, Fuji," Tezuka said, but Fuji just shrugged his shoulders and bid his goodbye to the stoic captain.

"Neesan has made an apple pie, so I need to arrive earlier than Yuuta," Fuji told him and went outside of the gate. "See you tomorrow, Tezuka." "Ah. See you tomorrow too, Fuji," and Fuji finally bid goodbye. As Tezuka closed the gate and went back inside their house, he received a text message from Fuji, saying:

_Tezuka, why won't you try talking to Hikari tomorrow at school? ^^_


	2. Chapter 2: The Birth of A Stalker

**Chapter 2: The Birth of the Stalker**

The next morning, Hikari arrived to school a little earlier than the usual, and with her legs better than yesterday, she happily skipped through the corridors and into the tennis court. Digital camera at hand, and a Taylor Swift song on loop in her iPhone, she did the first step of knowing Fuji better without the need of talking to him in person: STALKING.

"GOOD MORNING, TEZUKA-BUCHOU!" the whole tennis club greeted the arrival of their captain as he entered the tennis court. Then the whole party went to their usual routines during morning practice: warm-ups, jogging around the courts, and a few rallies. Hiding behind a large tree, Hikari tried to locate where her target stands. And she spotted him there: affixing a new grip tape on his tennis racket.

She tried her best to be as well-hidden as possible, so her pictures of him weren't the best ones. Most of them are out of focus and blurry. "Grr... Fuji please stay still!" she whispered angrily after taking a fail picture of Fuji's perfect routine of Tsubame Gaeshi. With her disappointment, she didn't realize someone was already tapping her back for a couple times already.

"Your pictures look terrible, Mori Hikari-san."

EEP! What is Inui Sadaharu, Seigaku Tennis Club's Data Man, doing there, hiding in the bushes (complete with a fake bush)? "Inui-san!" Hikari quickly hid her camera and backed away, "What are you doing here?" "Fu fu fu... ii data~" Inui said as he jot some notes with an evil smile. "Inui-saaaaaan... what are you doing here?" she impatiently asked him again, as Inui fixed his glasses and said, "I'm collecting data from afar, Mori-san; I want to know the..." as he rambles along, Hikari spotted another Fuji's technique and then again, failed.

"DAMN!" Hikari gritted her teeth and Inui got her camera and remarked, "I see... you're stalking Fuji Syuusuke eh? Seems legit... my data didn't lie after all." "Huh?" Hikari is completely confused; what's with Inui's... data? "I've been conducting some surveys these past few months, and I found out that Fuji's the most popular tennis club member... only a few points ahead of Tezuka." Hikari was shocked at the revelation: she doesn't know if she's going to fangirl over Fuji or shout a big "IN YOUR FACE!" at Tezuka.

Fuji's practice match ended pretty much soon and Hikari began deleting the fail photos from her camera. Sighing heavily, she ended up at DSC_ , which is the one and only photo that she took without blur or any flaw.

It was only Fuji on it; playing tennis.

And he's smiling.

And he's somewhat looking through the camera lens.

She let out a fangirl squeal, and Inui clapped his hands slowly. "You seem to be a lucky one today, Mori-san," Inui remarked as he copied the filename of the photo [for unknown reasons] and then he added, "Why won't you try mastering your photography skills? My data reveals that Fuji loves photography."

Hikari just let a "pfffft" sound and told Inui, "Please; I am the next President of the Photography Club," she proudly announced, "They were just blurred because photography and stalking people are two different things." Inui nodded merely, tapping his chin, "Well, I have some tricks on my sleeve, but it's all for the purpose of gathering precious data..." Inui stopped at Hikari's puppy-eyed plead. He now knows where this is going.

"Inuuui-saaan, can you please...?" "No; you have to do it on your own, Mori-san. I'm sorry," Inui said and Hikari pouted. "Stingy," she whispered as Inui explained that his data gathering ~skills~ are FBI-class and are not to be shared with anyone else. Hikari just shrugged her shoulders, stood up straight, and made a pact with Inui. "I can handle this Inui-san all by myself," Hikari proudly said, "Watch me stalk Fuji-kun better and better by the day. HAHAHAHAHAHA!"

It was a mistake that Hikari let out a high-decibel evil laugh, because as soon as Ryuzaki-sensei turned around at her direction, she quickly few off the scene, leaving Inui and his fake bush alone.

As Tezuka went inside the classroom, he saw the familiar redhead snoozing on her seat; her face buried against her Literature book. Out of the blue, he remembered Fuji's text message yesterday and thought if he'd give it a try. Even though they're classmates, Hikari and Tezuka rarely interacted with each other, either because Tezuka's been busy with everything or Hikari's basically avoiding him. Or both.

Placing his left palm against her shoulder, he tried to wake her up. Sleeping inside the classroom is of course, a big "no" for him. "Mori-san, you should not sleep inside the classroom," his voice woke her up all of the sudden. Damn. Hikari didn't realize she's already sleeping while reading, and ALREADY 15 MINUTES LATE FOR HER CLUB MEETING! Before running off to the Photography Clubroom, Hikari asked Tezuka, "Hey Rival-kun, don't you guys have tennis practice for today?" Tezuka raised his eyebrows slightly. It was the first time this entire school year Hikari talked to him. "Our club will go to Kawamura's today," he simply replied.

Oh right, Hikari thought, it's the last day of the school year, and some clubs are planning to have a party. Not her own club, though. She simply nodded and headed out of the classroom, half-grateful that stoic guy woke her up.

The club meeting only went on for a few minutes, mostly it's only their upperclassmen saying their farewells to the lowerclassmen. Hikari, being the next year's President, is being expected to do her job without any accidents [even though it's a fact that Hikari's one accident-prone creature]. After the club meeting, Hikari met up with Miiko and Shina outside the school gate.

"HIKARI WHERE ARE YOU? WE'RE STARVING!" Miiko sent her a text message while Hikari was running- brisk walking. For the three of them, they planned to head to Hikari's house and pig out. Hikari doesn't have to reply; she read the message as they went home together.

Going home. Huh. Somehow it ticked a good memory from a few days back.

Yes, it's pretty obvious that she's pretty much lovestruck again, because she's grinning her signature fangirl grin and her friends are now being crept out. "Let me guess, you remembered the time when Fuji went home with you, right?" Miiko asked her with rolling eyes and Hikari just nodded. The two just giggled and let Hikari do a fangirl rant regarding her debut as Fuji's stalker. "Ooooh, so now you're proclaiming yourself as his stalker..." Shina tried to digest the situation. Who knew Hikari was already this smitten? Hormones.

As they arrive home, Hikari treated Miiko and Shina to some Italian pasta - she cooked it - and as they enjoy swirling the pesto around while watching Legally Blonde, a random idea popped out of Hikari's mind. The tennis club is now at Kawamura's Sushi bar... and would it not hurt if she peeked through their so-and-so party?

So, leaving her two friends in the living room, she went up the stairs, then inside her older brother's room, and borrowed a polo and a pair of baggy pants. She hid her short red hair in a dark-colored fedora hat anddonned non-graded glasses. Hikari went down, and both Miiko and Shiina were shocked at her non-girly look.

"Hikari... is that you?" Miiko asked with eyes popping. "Is my disguise perfect enough?" Hikari said with high pride on the tone. Then she quickly filled in with the details regarding her plans of sneaking through the shop and both girls automatically said "NO".

Instead of feeling bad, Hikari took it as a blessing. Besides, it's not already "stalking" when more than one people are doing it, Hikari thought. It's like a CIA-like thing to do.

Now, the male Hikari [now disguised as "Hikaru"] is walking a little waywardly by the sidewalk, half-excited because it's his first official stalking job. Miiko and Shina opted to wait for him to go back; one troublemaker is enough for this situation. Readjusting his Converse sneakers, he went inside Kawamura's Sushi Shop and instinctively headed for a private room.

"Hey..." Taka-san's father called his attention, "that place is reserved for the evening." "I'm sorry, Kawamura-san," Hikaru said in his lowest voice. Of course, he can't simply slip in though the doors and stare at Fuji, right? So, even though his tummy was already full, he ordered a simple plate of California Maki and sat by the shop entrance, slowly eating the rolls.

It's been an hour since he arrived and thankfully, the tennis club members were slowly getting out of the room. Taking the chance, he peered by the door, hoping Fuji would come out soon.

But, bad fortune came when he bumped into someone, knocking him almost entirely. "I'm sorry, are you alright?"

OH GOSH. IT'S TEZUKA! Hikaru quickly adjusted his hat and glasses, grateful his identity was not yet blown. "Yes... I'm alright, sorry I was in the way," Hikaru replied and quickly straightened his stand. "Oh," Tezuka has nothing else to say and promptly excused himself. WELL THAT WAS A RELIEF, he thought; he will never know what Tezuka would do if he was a girl at that time...

He then saw Fuji still sitting inside the room, with the sobbing Kawamura and Eiji... like they're on the brink of death or something. Hikaru shifted his attention to the table filled with sushi injected with something that looks like wasabi. Wasabi sushi?

"C'mon guys, help me finish them," Fuji sweetly said to the two and they were already pleading him with a series of "NOOOOOO" and "PLEASE SPARE US NYAAAAAA~". Hikaru can't help but giggle over two things: Fuji being cute amid of the fact that he's already torturing his two teammates, and Fuji's love for wasabi sushi. "Aaaw, you guys are too sweet, thanks for the extra wasabi sushi~" Fuji said with a chuckle and ate every roll as if they're filled with sugar instead of wasabi. Eiji just widened his eyes as Taka-san asked him for the hundredth time why he loves them so much.

"Noted~" Hikaru said with a smile, taking a quick photo using his iPhone. He quickly took his leave from the shop and removed the hat off his head. Finally, he's turning back as Hikari again.

**Hikari's Revelations on Fuji #1:** Fuji Syusuke loves to eat wasabi sushi... and to torture others just for fun.

If only being a middle school junior went on a bit longer... she thought with a sigh as she walked home. Who knows, maybe when senior year comes, her stalking skills would go up... of course, when we grow older, we go wiser as well.

Sometimes.

**Author's Notes:**

DSC_ is derived from Fuji's birthday, February 29th.

Note the change of pronoun usage from the time "Hikaru" pops out in the story. Since Hikari's now disguised as a boy, she's now being referred to as "he". Just in case the readers get confused.

If the readers are wondering, the Taylor Swift song Hikari was playing on the first part of the chapter was "I'd Lie", which was my inspiration while writing this fan fiction.


End file.
